The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team made a comeback to beat Furman University in triple overtime in Greenville, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon.
The Spiders beat Furman 6-5 after rallying from a three-goal deficit in the final 10 minutes of play. In the last four minutes of the game, the Spiders scored two goals to tie the score and send the game to extra periods, which Richmond eventually won in triple overtime.
Although the Spiders' offense helped the team in the win, it was the defense that had the better performance. Richmond's defense held Furman to only five goals and forced 14 turnovers, and all three starting Richmond defenders caused at least three.
Senior Tom Monzo led the Spiders with four turnovers, and junior Henry Buonagurio set a personal record of 13 saves in his third career start for the Spiders.
"Our defense has been the backbone of this team all season long," senior Alex Hatem said. "They gave us the opportunity to get back in this one."
Both teams started the game defensively well, keeping the game low-scoring in the first period. This strong defensive trend continued for the entire game, although Furman's offense applied more pressure early on than Richmond. The Paladins' 13 shots on goal in the second period and high intensity in the third period helped them gain a three-goal lead.
But in the final 10 minutes of play, Richmond rallied back to tie the score and send the game to overtime. Like most of the game, overtime was a defensive battle. The two teams combined for just six shots total in the first two periods of overtime. A fast break late in the final overtime period allowed Richmond to score and steal the victory from Furman.
Hatem scored two goals on Saturday, the game-tying goal at the end of regulation play and the game-winning goal in the third period of overtime.
Freshman Teddy Hatfield also scored two goals in the game, and sophomores Eric Haehl and Austin Brown both posted one goal each.
"I’m proud because, with under four minutes left down two goals, our guys made the plays they needed to make in order to tie it up," head coach Dan Chemotti said. The Spiders played without all-conference selections Benny Pugh and Mitch Goldberg, both out with injuries.
Richmond improves to 4-0 in the Southern Conference, a perfect start to the season for the second year in a row. The Spiders next play another conference opponent, Bellarmine, at home on Saturday afternoon.
Contact sports editor Aidan Logan at aidan.logan@richmond.edu
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